4th SUNDAY OF ADVENT BEFORE your prayers - collect 4 candles and be ready to light them during this time of prayer. If you have no candles just omit the candle lighting. INTRODUCTION: Advent is a season of expectation and preparation as the Church prepares to celebrate the coming of Christ and looks ahead to his return as judge at the end of time. During Advent we are reminded to be alert, watchful and expectant as we pray for our Lord’s second coming. Today on the 4th and final Sunday of Advent we remember Mary a young unmarried woman. A woman who agreed to be the mother of God and brought God into this world. Light the 3 Candles from last week and the 2 weeks before, then the 4th candle. PRAYER: Lord Jesus light of the world, blessed is Gabriel who brought good news and blessed is Mary your mother. Heavenly Father, you exalted the humble and meek: give us humble and contrite hearts. Lord Jesus, you grew towards birth in the Virgin’s womb: be planted in our hearts and lives. Holy Spirit, you overshadowed Mary, that she might become the God-bearer: fill us with your heavenly gifts. Bless your Church preparing for Christmas; and bless us your children, who long for your coming. AMEN READING: When the Lord comes, he will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness, and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Therefore in the light of Christ let us confess our sins. (1 Corinthians 4.5) SEASONAL PRAYER: Almighty God, who in Jesus Christ has given us a kingdom that cannot be destroyed, forgive us our sins, open our eyes to God’s truth, strengthen us to do God’s will and give us the joy of his kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Blow out the 4 candles and keep them for Christmas Day.Readings: Isaiah 7v10-16; Psalm 80v1-8&18-20; Romans 1v1-7; Matthew 1v18-end.Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.A Word: As our Advent journey draws to its close, let’s stop and ask ourselves the question “what have we been doing and how have we spent our time of watching, waiting and getting ready for the day when the Lord returns?” For many, the last few weeks have been a time of effort, energy and money expended in all sorts of exertions in a futile attempt to create a perfect Christmas day. For we live in a world that tempts and drives us to excesses that damage our physical, psychological and spiritual health. However, whatever else we have been doing this Advent, we still have time to stop and call to mind the future when we shall meet our Lord and God face-to-face. For we have a God who came to earth to save us. The son that Joseph was told by Gabriel, in Matthew, is the promised one being carried into the world by Mary. The long awaited Messiah that the prayer in the psalm is asking for. The Messiah who would be recognised because of the sign given to Ahaz in the readings from Isaiah. The one who the letter to the Romans tells us is a descendent of David and the son of God. The one resurrected from the dead who gives grace to all who belong to him and calls them into his service. So let us stop and give thanks for the Messiah, who lived and died and rose again to save us from our sins; and let’s give thanks that it is him who is coming to judge us. For he loves us beyond measure and wants us to be saved.Let us Pray: Heavenly Father and blessed Redeemer, who chose and prepared Mary to be the mother of your promised saviour. Fill us with your grace to accept your holy will for us so we may be ready to greet Jesus when he comes again to judge us. Amen Thanks for joining us today.
Join us in Church for a short family friendly communion service in which we hear the Christmas story and sing carols.
3rd SUNDAY OF ADVENT BEFORE your prayers - collect 3 candles and be ready to light them during this time of prayer. If you have no candles just omit the candle lighting. INTRODUCTION: Advent is a season of expectation and preparation as the Church prepares to celebrate the coming of Christ and looks ahead to his return as judge at the end of time. During Advent we are reminded to be alert, watchful and expectant as we pray for our Lord’s second coming. Today on the 3rd Sunday of Advent we remember John the Baptiser, the forerunner to the Messiah who proclaimed the Saviour and baptised him. Light the 2 Candles from last week and the week before, then the 3rd candle. PRAYER: Lord Jesus light of the world, John told the people to prepare for you were very near. Heavenly Father, you call us to prepare for the coming of your Son: forgive us our unreadiness to receive him. Lord Jesus, you were proclaimed by John the Baptist: help us to prepare your way. Holy Spirit, you speak through the prophets: make us attentive to hear your word. So that, as Christmas grows closer make us ready to welcome you. AMEN READING: ‘The axe is laid at the root of the trees; every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down.’ But confident in God’s mercy we confess our sins. Matthew 3.10 SEASONAL PRAYER: Almighty God, who in Jesus Christ has given us a kingdom that cannot be destroyed, forgive us our sins, open our eyes to God’s truth, strengthen us to do God’s will and give us the joy of his kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Blow out the 3 candles and keep them for next week. Readings: Isaiah 35v1-10; Psalm 146v4-10; Luke 1v46b-55; James 5v7-10; Matthew 11v2-11. Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.A Word: As we continue our Advent journey of watching, waiting and getting ready for the day when the Lord returns; we hear in James the call to be like the prophets of old as we await the return of the Lord. For God had promised a Messiah for the world who would be born within the nation of God’s people, Israel. Then down the ages, God continued to remind His people about his promised Messiah. In the psalm we hear a reminder about God’s promise. For it is a prayer of praise that reminds us that the Lord God and creator of all things keeps his promises and cares for all people in their times of need and distress. In Isaiah we hear the prophet remind us about the promised Messiah and the signs that would be seen when the Messiah arrives in the world. A time that creation would recognise and respond to. A time heralded by the healing of the people with infirmities of many kinds. A time when the ransomed would be redeemed and returned to the Lord.In Luke we hear Mary proclaiming praise for the Lord our God because she knew that God had fulfilled his promise and sent the Messiah into the world through her. She praises God because she knows He always keeps his promises, is ever merciful to those in need and is a God who brings justice. However, whilst we should be certain that Jesus is the Messiah, it is all too easy to doubt. For as we hear in Matthew, whilst imprisoned John needed reassurance that Jesus really was the Messiah. We can learn from this because John doubted even though he had been sent by God to tell out the message that the Messiah had arrived into the world and, at Jesus’ baptism, seen wondrous signs that confirmed Jesus was the Messiah. This doubt that John had is something that can happen to any of us at any time in our lives because we are human and limited and frail. However, what we learn in Matthew is that doubt is not the opposite of faith, it is simply a struggle we may face when life is difficult. For, when Jesus heard and understood that John was doubting, he sent a message that would reassure him. A message that reminded John of the scriptures he knew about the Messiah. A message that would confirm that Jesus was the Messiah.So, as we await Jesus return at the end of time, we need to act on James’ call to live like the prophets. For most of them never saw the Messiah in their own lifetimes. Instead they were shining lights who pointed to a future time when the Messiah would come. Sharing the message with others so they would be ready. And, even if we waver and doubt, we can take hope from the fact that John the greatest prophet of all also had a time of doubting. And be assured that doubt is not the opposite of faith – it is just a sign of our humanity, limitedness and frailty. Something that Jesus understands, just as he understood John, and will deal with gently to help us. Let us Pray: O Lord Jesus Christ, we give you thanks for sending your messenger to prepare your way and for giving us your undeserved gifts of love, mercy and salvation. We ask you to help us to be good stewards of your message of good news. We pray you will kindle in us the fire of the Holy Spirit. We ask you to help us to prepare and make ready your way for your second coming to judge the world. We ask you to turn the hearts of the disobedient and make all of us into wise and just people, so we may shine as lights in your world and be found acceptable in your sight. AmenThank you for joining us today
Advent , Christmas, Epiphany and Candlemas at St Matthew with St ChadWe hope you will be able to visit or join us for the Advent to Candlemas Season. All are welcome, whether Christians, of other faiths or non. On Friday 26th November 2pm to 4.30pm and Saturday 27th November 11am to 2pm, we are holding our Christmas fete in Church with free visits to see Santa Claus (St Nicholas). There will also be sales of clothes, toys and books as well as a tombola stall and raffle. Light refreshments at reasonable prices will also be on sale. Our new Church Year begins on Sunday 28th November when we light the 1st Candle on our Advent Wreath during our 10am Communion service. Each following Sunday we shall light the other Advent candles during our 10am Communion services.Our Christmas Season begins on 24th December with our 6pm short Family Service of readings and carols, in Church, followed by light refreshments. On 25th December we shall be holding a short family friendly Communion service at 10am - all are welcome.On Sunday 4th January 2026 we shall be holding a short family Communion service to celebrate the Epiphany and remember the visit of the Magi (three Kings) at 10am. Come and see our simple pageant. Each Sunday during Epiphany, we shall be holding 10am Communion services. Our Christmastime season will end as we close our 10am Communion service on Sunday 1st February 2026.
